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[08/03/10 - 10:20 AM] FX at TCA: Landgraf Renews "Louie," Orders "Alabama" By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC) |
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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- John Landgraf opened FX's executive session at the TCA Summer Press Tour with a pair of announcements: ordering a 13-episode second season for "Louie" and a comedy pilot from "Reno 911" co-creators Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant.
"U.S.S. Alabama," which Lennon and Garant will also co-star, is a partially scripted comedy that "takes place in space with a crew of spacefarers who might not be too much brighter than the cops in 'Reno 911,'" Landgraf said. Production on the pilot will begin next month.
Beyond said developments, Landgraf spent the bulk of the session celebrating the channel's successes - both past ("Without 'The Shield' we wouldn't have 'Sons of Anarchy' because [creator] Kurt Sutter... started as a junior writer [there].") and present (all four of its new series in the past 12 months - "Louie," "The League," "Archer" and "Justified" - received second season pickups).
As for the future, FX plans to kick off 2011 with season two of "Archer" and newcomer "Lights Out" in January followed by the return of "Justified" in February or March. And on the pilot front, drama "Outlaw Country" goes into production next month while comedy "Wilfred" just wrapped principal photography.
Other topics included the transition of "Damages" from FX to DirecTV where FX Productions will continue to produce the series, but the network itself will not air it. "DirecTV felt very strongly - they were willing to underwrite it to a very substantial amount financially, they enabled it to move forward, that was a deal that Sony worked on very aggressively - but they wanted it exclusively so this was really the best and only way for 'Damages' to move forward. So we stepped aside as a network entity and we're still involved as a production entity."
He also addressed the DVR issue, which seems to haunt FX series in particular. "I think anybody who sits in this chair as an executive who tells you they don't wish the DVR hadn't been invented is lying. I think it's a great device for consumers and I use it heavily as a consumer myself but we do pay a penalty. We're now losing upwards of 25% of the saleable audience from our shows - in other words if you take a show on FX we get paid from an advertiser standpoint typically now for about 75% of the people actually watching the show. The [other] 25% are in fact watching the show and measurably watching the show but not watching the commercials. And so, thankfully we have a dual revenue stream [with cable operator fees]."
Ultimately, Landgraf proved to be most proud of the general elevation of cable series from afterthoughts to sought after sources of entertainment as of late. "I think it's become almost a status symbol for an actor to have a cable show," he said. "I think many, many actors really want a show. I think part of that has to do with the creative boldness of 'The Shield' and 'The Wire' and 'Mad Men' [etc.] - I think what you see in the film business is that kind of [drama] or that adult film that is very ambitious creatively and from a tone standpoint has really nuanced, defined roles for characters and is made for an adult audience has really almost disappeared. And so a lot of being a movie star these days is standing in front of a green screen in a latex costume with guide wires on, learning how to do karate. And I think in that environment actors want to go where the best writers are [which is cable television]."
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[10/24/25 - 02:30 PM] Video: First Look at Upcoming New Drama "Memory of a Killer" Starring Patrick Dempsey and Michael Imperioli - Premiering This January on FOX Dempsey stars as a hitman, Angelo Doyle, leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret - he has developed early onset Alzheimer's.
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[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM] "20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.
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[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM] ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week "Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.
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[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM] "Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.
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[10/24/25 - 08:01 AM] Netflix Announces "Hollywood Arts," A Brand-New Spinoff of Hit Live-Action, "Victorious," with Daniella Monet Returning as Star and Executive Producer The series is set to debut on Netflix in 2026, followed by releases on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.
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[10/24/25 - 07:14 AM] FOX Sports Readies for Major League Baseball's 121st World Series Presented by Capital One Action leads off Friday, October 24, between the National League and current reigning World champion Los Angeles Dodgers and American League champion Toronto Blue Jays from Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App and FOX One.
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[10/24/25 - 07:01 AM] Video: "Love Is Blind" Season 9: The Reunion - Official Trailer - Netflix Denver singles shake up their search for "the one" and step into the pods, braving twists, turns and love triangles to find their soulmate sight unseen.
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[10/24/25 - 07:01 AM] Experience the Family, the Fun, and the Fantastic! Marvel Studios' "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" Lands Exclusively on Disney+ November 5 Continuing the celebration of Marvel's First Family, the announcement was made live from SpaceCon 2025 in San Antonio, where The Fantastic Four: First Steps Immersive Pop-Up Experience invites attendees to step inside the iconic Baxter Building.
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[10/24/25 - 06:00 AM] The CW Network and Xfinity Celebrate 11 Years of the NASCAR Xfinity Series by Presenting the Third Stage of the Championship Race Commercial-Free Taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, November 1, the commercial-free stage presented by Xfinity was created to thank the loyal race fans who have supported the NASCAR Xfinity Series for more than a decade - helping the series grow through their unwavering enthusiasm, increased viewership, and continued trackside attendance.
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[10/23/25 - 05:01 PM] Video: "As You Stood By" - Official Trailer - Netflix When two women plot to end an abusive marriage through murder, an unexpected visitor arrives - threatening to shatter everything they've carefully planned.
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[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM] Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.
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[10/23/25 - 02:28 PM] The 305 Just Got Hotter: "Love & Hip Hop: Miami" Moves to BET Season 7 Premieres Tuesday, November 4 at 8 PM ET/PT The upcoming seventh season dives deeper than ever into Miami's thriving entertainment scene, following a cast of stars who are rebuilding, rebranding, and redefining success in real time.
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[10/23/25 - 01:30 PM] Critically Acclaimed Noir Thriller, "Dark Winds," to Return to AMC and AMC+ Sunday, February 15 The series' gripping fourth season focuses on the search for a missing Navajo girl, which takes Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito from the safety of Navajo Nation to the gritty terrain of 1970s Los Angeles in a race against the clock to save her from an obsessive killer with ties to organized crime.
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[10/23/25 - 12:01 PM] Video: BET+ Releases Trailer for Horror Film "A Demon's Revenge" In the film, following the bloodshed in Belize, Peaches, played by Jhoné Lucas, delves deeper into Caribbean folklore and the terrifying truth that lurks beneath.
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[10/23/25 - 12:00 PM] FOX Entertainment Acquires Equity Stake in Chain, Forging Strategic Partnership with Experiential Food Phenomenon Co-Founded by B.J. Novak Included in the investment is a first look development deal through Chain Media.
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